Improving Your Prayer Life by Keeping a Prayer Journal

Most of us likely starting praying at a young age. Some of the first prayers you likely learned were possibly the Blessing at a meal.

“God is great, God is good, let him thank us for this food, by his hands we are fed, thank you Lord for daily bread. Amen”

Or you might have learned a nighttime prayer such as:

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen”

My husband and I taught our children to pray at a very young age by using some of these prayers.

Then there is the Model or Disciples prayer found in both the books of Matthew and Luke in the Bible. This is also known as the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

So, when you’re not sure what to pray think of these humble beginnings and how it doesn’t have to be complicated to be heard by God. The Lord wants to hear from us no matter what we have to say.

Why I Began Keeping a Prayer Journal

One of the ways that I have improved my prayer life over the years is by keeping a prayer journal.   This helped me to stay more focused as I prayed and also gave me a place to return to when I realized that God had answered my prayers.

My prayer journals from the past reveal to me more answered prayers than I can count. Prayer after prayer that God answered.  He may not have always said, “Yes”.  He may not have even answered me within the time period I thought that he should.  After all the Bible says that,

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Use your prayer journal to call on him, to praise him, to ask for his grace, to ask for his blessings, to intercede for others, to thank him, and so much more!

Did you know there are different types of prayer?  All of which you can record in your prayer journal on a daily basis if you so choose. The following are the different types of prayer as found in Scripture.

Types of Prayer 

1 Timothy 2:1 says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.” Here, all four of the main Greek words used for prayer are mentioned in one verse.

Prayers of Supplication – Just as Philippians 4:6 teaches, we are to take our requests before the Lord.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Corporate Prayers – As we see in Acts 2:42 the disciples join together in prayer. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Prayers of Intercession – Prayers for others as we intercede for them as the Bible teaches in 1 Timothy 2:1, which says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people”.  

Prayers of Thanksgiving – Prayers of thanksgiving are just that, where we give thanks to God.  As we learn in Philippians 4:5,  “With thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Many examples of thanksgiving prayers can also be found in the Psalms.

Together, these four types of prayers can help to make up a rich prayer life and relationship with God.